“Do I really need training in conducting immigration evaluations?”

Mental health professionals are ethically bound to practice within their scope of competency.

The American Psychological Association (2020) published the Guidelines for Psychological Assessment and Evaluation, which clearly state that

“Psychologists who conduct psychological testing, assessment, and evaluation seek appropriate training and supervised experience in relevant aspects of testing, assessment, and psychological evaluation.”

In addition to training, they highlight the importance of skill development and collaboration with experts in the area of practice. According to the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) Code of Ethics (2020), clinical mental health counselors are “expected to possess appropriate knowledge and competence” when conducting mental health assessments and to “objectively offer their findings without bias or investment in the ultimate outcome.”

Similarly, the National Association of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics (2008) states that social workers who provide services in substantive areas that are new to them should engage in appropriate study, training, consultation, and supervision from others who are competent in those areas. It is clear that in order to undertake a psychological evaluation, any MHP must be qualified to do so, or else risk an ethical violation. More importantly, perhaps, practicing outside your scope of knowledge and experience also does a great disservice to those who seek your help.

 All forensic work requires that the evaluator have at least a basic understanding of the legal basis of the case they are working on.

Even though most clinicians received some type of assessment training in graduate school, it likely did not cover the nuances inherent in immigration evaluations. Immigration law is one of the most complex patchwork of laws, policies, and procedures in the country — in large part because it is constantly changing and evolving. Naturally, MHPs are not expected to know everything about immigration law, but it is our ethical obligation to have a reasonable understanding of the rules, standards, and guidelines of the legal proceedings that guide the evaluation (American Psychological Association, 2013, 2017, 2020; Heilbrun et al., 2009).

Immigration attorneys are much more likely to refer their clients to mental health professionals who have been adequately trained to do this type of evaluations.

When I started doing these evaluations in 2007, most mental health professionals had never heard of an immigration evaluation. Similarly, many immigration attorneys did not know the positive impact of a report written by a mental health professional could have on their clients’ cases. Consequently, most of the attorneys I worked with were patient and supportive as I learned the ropes of this fascinating field. Fast forwarding 15 years, there are now several training programs and published textbooks to prepare mental health professionals to do this work. This means that immigration attorneys are unlikely to be as patient and helpful now to novice evaluators when they can easily refer their clients to professionals who already know what they’re doing.

We don’t know what we don’t know, and ignorance can be very harmful to our clients.

Most professionals who work with the immigrant community and their loved ones do so because we care and want to help an often-underserved population. However, it is important to understand what should and should not be included in a report because mentioning certain information could jeopardize a client’s case. At best, it could result in a Request for Further Evidence, thus delaying a client’s immigration process and likely costing them more money; at worst, it could ruin their entire case.

Did you know?

There is a reason so many immigration attorneys refer their clients for psychological evaluations: they have been found to have a significant positive impact on the outcome of an immigration proceeding. A retrospective analysis of over 2500 cases initiated by Physicians for Human Rights between 2008 and 2018 revealed that applicants with psychological evaluations had significantly more positive outcomes than those without. The researchers concluded that there is an urgent need to expand the pool of trained evaluators to improve access to immigration evaluations.

Atkinson et al., 2021

ARE YOU REGISTERED YET?

Our next training will take place on:

Friday, January 13 & Saturday, January 14

9am - 3pm (Pacific)

11am - 5pm (Central)

12pm - 6pm (Eastern)

In addition to learning how to perform the 7 most common types of immigration evaluations, participants will get hands-on training on marketing their services to immigration attorneys, tips for working with interpreters, some guidelines for testifying in immigration court, and self-care practices for preventing vicarious trauma.

 Participation also includes:

-       12 continuing education units sponsored by the San Diego Psychological Association

-       Everything you need to get started: sample reports, intake guides, consent forms, symptom checklists, etc.

-       FREE monthly consultations with me! (a $600 value)

-       Discounted membership on the Immigration Psych Eval Directory (plus all the perks you get by having a listing)

-       Certificate of completion for display

-       and more!

Order your copy now and save 20% with code FLE22*
*coupon only valid on the Routledge website